Comments on: Brussels and the Bosporus

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 04 Aug 2004 14:57:27 +0000

Bush is for, but many hard-line neocons, along with elements of the extreme left, are against. Etc.

Wow, good!

By: Frans Groenendijk

Frans Groenendijk — Fri, 23 Jul 2004 19:54:17 +0000

“I don?t think its going to happen”

But do you want it to happen? And what can be supportive for that goal?

By: aegean disclosure

aegean disclosure — Wed, 21 Jul 2004 06:00:22 +0000

I don’t think its going to happen. The geopolitical angle is not all positive. Right now Turkey is a gradient descent into the middle east for europe–acting as a bufferzone. Sure the EU can attempt to grapple over the mid east with the US, but the reality is that the EU will border Iraq, Syria, and Iran–it sounds rather odd, no? I’m sure the thought of illegal immigrants coming into Turkey from all three of those countries and becoming EU citizens wil keep a few people up at night. This current gov has tied everything to EU accession and has taken a rather big gamble–something rather amusing for those who would not consider themselves “betting men”. Instead, we should have aimed for the economic benefits and made light of freedom of travel and work conditions–ie full blown membership.

By: Peter Dirix

Peter Dirix — Tue, 20 Jul 2004 20:25:17 +0000

“Admitting Turkey would set the EU on an ambitious new path. It could greatly strengthen Europe?s strategic position, giving it added weight in competition with the United States and other powers that might emerge later in the century.”

Of course, that would only be true if Turkey becomes a real Europan partner and not an American Trojan horse. In security and defence issues, I guess Turkey will take the same position as Britain. What other reason would there be for the American government to really want Turkey as an EU member?

By: vaara

vaara — Tue, 20 Jul 2004 19:48:26 +0000

The interesting thing about the issue of Turkey joining the EU is the way it scrambles political alliances. Chirac is against, Schr?der is for; the Dutch are against; the Greeks (or at least their government) are for. Bush is for, but many hard-line neocons, along with elements of the extreme left, are against. Etc.

I went to Turkey a couple months ago, and one of the questions in the back of my mind was, “Should Turkey be admitted to the EU?” And after ten days, I’m sorry to say I still don’t know. For every sign that Turkey is a stable, secular, Western democracy, there is a corresponding sign that it still has a very long way to go.

On the whole, I’m tempted to say “why not?” but as an American, I’m no more entitled to comment on the issue than, say, George W. Bush is.

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 20 Jul 2004 17:06:53 +0000

“December’s vote will be as much about Europe as about Turkey. It is a chance for Europeans to confront their fear of outsiders, and to emerge from centuries of hostility and suspicion directed against the Muslim world.”

I agree that the vote will be as much about Europe as about Turkey, but not because of a fear of outsiders. Tensions will not be introduced as something new, they already exist, but Turkey’s membership will force Europe to confront issues it is now avoiding, and that can only be a good thing. Multi-religion / multi-culturalism is the obvious thing to be addressed, but perhaps there is another almost as hard: another “big” country (bigger than any except Germany) with a population growing much faster than current members. Big country vs small country problems can only get worse if not tackled properly.